The opposition of Panama speaks against an agreement that allows the deployment of US troops in the Central American nation.
The opposition politicians in Panama accused the United States of launching a “camouflaged invasion” of the country after President Donald Trump confirmed the US soldiers deposit days after the two countries signed a security pact.
The United States Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseeth, Thorsday’s day confirmed that the agreements were reached, including a memorandum of understanding, among the US and Panamanic authorities in efforts to ensure “the Panama Canal of Chinese influence.”
“The Panama Canal is a key land that must be insured by Panama, with the United States and not China,” Hegseeth said in a statement on Wednesday during his three -day trip to Panama.
Hegseeth said that an agreement with the Panama Canal Authority would allow US warships and auxiliary ships “first” through the channel that connects the Pacific Ocean with the Atlantic and is a main duct for global trade.
He added that US troops would be deployed in three old military bases: Fort Sherman, Rodman’s naval base and the base of the Howard’s Air Force, as part of an agreement signed with the Public Security Ministry of Public Security, raising Conerns in Panama. The last American troops were withdrawn from the country in 1999.
‘An invasion without shooting a shot’
In a video posted on social networks on Friday, Ricardo Lombana, the leader of the Opposition Another Way movement, called the Memorandum of Understanding achieved between the governments of the United States and Panamanians days before “an invasion without firing.”
The agreement was reached after a three -day visit by the Secretary of Defense of the United States, Hegseeth.
On Thursday, President Trump confirmed that US soldiers and military personnel were deployed in Panama as part of the agreement, counting reporters: “We have transferred many troops to Panama.”
Despite the insistence of the Panamanian government that these are not “military bases” and that the agreement is temporary, the opposition believes that the United States has re -oestabered its military presence in the country.
“It doesn’t matter how you want to call it, what we have read in this memo is the establishment of military bases,” said Lombana, the opposition leader.
He added that the slogan of the “firm step” that the government has been using in its political messages now “limited and kneel under pressure.”
The latest American military bases in Panama were evacuated in 1999 as part of Torrijos-Carter treatments signed in 1977 with the aim of delivering control over the channel to Panama.
The United States also invaded Panama in 1989 as part of what “Operation Just cause” called to depose the leader Manuel Noriega.
The US troops were accused of killing thousands of civilians and destroying houses and infrastructure the operation, leaving a controversial legacy.
That is partly the reason why frustration has grown on the legs in Panama on Trump’s statement that he intends to “recover” the Panama Canal.
The United States has refuted the property of ACKNIJFGE Panama on the channel as part of the negotiations that led to the defense pact signed earlier this week.
The Panamanian opposition, together with the local chapter of International Transparency, which works to promote more responsible government practices, has asked the government to inform the country about the content of the agreement with the United States.
China has criticized the agreement a lot, maintaining that it sees the Panama Canal as a permanently neutral international passage.
The channel manages around 40 percent of American container traffic and 5 percent of global trade.